This week was marked by me going back to my regular job. I’m grateful to have a job and be back at work, but I’m also grateful for the time I had during our CO-VID 19 shutdown to work on this nursery and website. I feel I’ve got momentum going to building and eventually opening this business. I will need to keep making time to take the actions to develop this business, but it would not have been possible without the time I had during these past few months. Being away from work was for me in so many ways a blessing (especially since our employer and union helped us receive our pay and benefits the whole time). I don’t want to make light of these times. I realize that right now there are people who are sick, dying, and mourning relatives. At the same time black people continue to be discriminated against and to be murdered by the very people who are supposed to protect them. These are grave times.
That being said, time is precious. It is never something that should be wasted. We never know when our time will be at an end. I am glad to have launched into this project during this time I wouldn’t have otherwise had. A nursery business has been on my mind for some time. Driving through the country in Panama there were houses that had a sign outside that said “vivero” or nursery, and you could see the potted plants outside in the yard. Things are not the same here, and a full scale nursery from my house is not the most viable option, but it is a start. Or at least growing them here and selling them at events, like we plan to do in the spring. That plus selling supplies online in the beginning. I love plant propagation and have gifted friends, family, and neighbors with seedlings for a couple years in a row now. I’ve been interested in working for a cause that would help the natural world and build community, and allow me to be in contact with nature, the outdoors, and not be in front of a screen all of the time. I’ve wanted to make these changes for some time.
So utilizing this time for me really became an “are you serious about this?” moment. It is daydream vs. vision. If I can’t do it when I’m at home with pay and benefits (thanks to our employer and union), when my responsibilities became primarily helping the kids with their homeschooling and doing house stuff like cooking and cleaning, then when could I do it? I am grateful that I got started. I’m nowhere near the eventual goals, but I have taken the first steps, and for that I am grateful.
Now, I see two important challenges to face. One is to not let fear get in my way of moving forward. Putting myself out there has been incredibly hard for me. I do fear failure and the unknown. It would be easy to shutter the whole idea for the security of the known. Many dreams die because of not wanting to leave the security of the known. This is my first large challenge. The next challenge is keeping the momentum going, and to keep working towards the goal. Every day I need to do something to advance this idea. It may be something small like writing for the blog, or comparing prices on products, but I must do something. If I can overcome these two challenges, I think I can possibly have the ecommerce part of the website running soon and plant material ready for sale in the spring. I will work hard to see this through.
Okay, sorry for the stream of consciousness rant, I just felt that I needed to express that, and perhaps there are others out there that feel the same way. Onto what’s been happening the past week on the nursery front.
In the garden, lots of things are coming along. Many peppers are growing, and the cayenne are just about to turn red, I just can’t wait to eat the first pepper from the garden. In the three sisters garden, the corn is growing, the squash have flowers, and the beans seem to be starting to bud. I’ve mentioned before, I don’t think I’ll get great cord, too many seeds either didn’t germinate or were eaten to have adequate pollination. That’s okay though, I enjoy seeing a corn patch in the yard, and we’ll still enjoy purchased corn. Lots of great flowers are in bloom throughout the landscape, and we have seen hummingbirds, butterflies, and all other kinds of life around. A very surprising thing, I allowed a couple of parsnips to over winter and go to seed and it appears ladybugs love parsnip flowers! The only other time I’ve seen so many ladybugs in the garden is when some bushes had an aphid infestation a couple of years ago, but they seem to love the flowering parsnips. Ladybugs are good bugs! Having them around is great as they eat lots of tiny larvae of insect pests. That’s about all for now. I do plan on propagating some rosemary cuttings and starting some fall seeds in the weeks to come, but not quite yet. I will also start a new batch of wine this weekend, details to be revealed after I obtain the fruit.
Other than that, my primary focus was getting back into the swing of things with work. It’s great to be at home the moment I sign out. Best wishes for a great weekend!
Meneely Family Nursery 